Why I buy

Interesting piece here at BeaucoupKevin with an excerpt from a comic store newsletter featuring a negative review of a particular comic; the gist is that a comic store shouldn't recommend against buying particular comics--that it's bad business.

It's an interesting perspective. On the one hand, we all like to see an honest opinion. We don't like someone telling us something is great when they don't really think so. There's enough of that out there already. On the other hand...well, it's true. If you're a business, you're trying to sell a product. If you dislike said product enough to warn your customers away from it, possibly you shouldn't be carrying it at all.

The general opinion in the comments section there seems to be that since the newsletter is put out by a retailer, a certain amount of bias can be assumed (which I suppose is the reason for the negative review--to show that the store is willing to call it as they see it even if it may hurt them in the cash register). That it would be better to praise the good and simply omit mention of the bad. Sort of an "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" approach.

Does that mean, though, that if you want to run a comic store, you sort of lose your right to have opinions? Say what you like, don't say what you don't like, hope that people read between the lines? Make sure that you only share your real thoughts on comics if you know there are no potential customers around?

I do see that the context of the review was questionable--it was in (I'm assuming) an official store publication, so the writer was acting as a representative of the store. Although I suppose it depends on what the store feels the primary purpose of the newsletter is--to provide information or to bring people into the store to buy things. Ideally it's both. Too much hard-sell and people will stay away in droves; too little and the thing won't generate enough extra profit to make it worth the time you spent putting it together.

Personally I like to read reviews, positive or negative, and I've tried some things because of good reviews. However, I've never dropped something I was already getting based on a bad review. Have I failed to pick up something new based on a bad review? It's possible. I really don't know